Hong Kong: Golden Sixty, 8, shows he can still bring it with victory in Stewards' Cup

For the second time in a year the great Hong Kong miler Golden Sixty silenced the doubters, turning in a dazzling performance to win the Group 1, $1.53 million Stewards’ Cup at Sha Tin Racecourse on Sunday.

Beaten a neck with no apparent excuse while racing at level weights with California Spangle in the Hong Kong Mile last month, a performance that hinted Golden Sixty’s brilliance had begun eroding at age 8 on Southern Hemisphere time, Golden Sixty bounced right back to his best in the Stewards’ Cup.

Getting a perfect pocket trip under regular rider Vincent Ho, Golden Sixty with 250 meters left to race sliced between his two main rivals, pacesetting California Spangle and pace-pressing Romantic Warrior, and simply outsprinted them to the finish. With a final 800 meters in a remarkable 44.30 seconds, including his last 400 in 22.41, Golden Sixty got home by one length over Romantic Warrior, with California Spangle a neck behind in third. It was 4 1/4 lengths back to fourth-place Waikuku, a margin that emphasized the strength of the top three finishers. The winning 1,600-meter time off a slow early tempo was 1:33.99. All starters carried 126 pounds.

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Golden Sixty won the 2021 Stewards’ Cup, but it was a three-quarters length loss to Waikuku in the 2022 renewal followed by a sound defeat in the Hong Kong Gold Cup that left some wondering whether Golden Sixty’s star was dimming. The gelding put that notion to rest with a pair of powerful wins to cap his 2021-22 campaign and looked as fast as ever in the Stewards’ Cup.

“I still believe that he is one of the best horses at a mile,” Ho said. “You still have to respect our opponents – but I have to trust my horse.”

Romantic Warrior, narrowly favored over Golden Sixty, lost for just the second time in 11 starts. Although Romantic Warrior got a good trip under Karis Teetan, he was cutting back from a pair of 2,000-meter races in the Stewards’ Cup and simply couldn’t match Golden Sixty’s acceleration. California Spangle appeared to run to form, but dictating a moderate pace still wasn’t sufficient to thwart Golden Sixty.

Trained by Francis Lui, Golden Sixty is by Medaglia d’Oro out of Gaudeamus, by Distorted Humor, and the world-class performer might be going abroad for the first time this year. Golden Sixty is nominated to the 1,800-meter Dubai Turf on March 26 and Lui suggested Sunday that race was under strong consideration.

Hong Kong Classic Mile

Voyage Bubble broke a step slowly but was hustled to the lead by Australian jockey Jamie Kah and led most of the way to win the $1.53 Hong Kong Classic Mile, Sunday’s supporting feature, by 1 1/4 lengths.

Kah had ridden before at Happy Valley but never at Sha Tin and won two races on her first day there, including the rich tally in the first leg of the 4-year-old classic series. Voyage Bubble set a moderate tempo and the late-running horses had no chance when the gelding threw down a good 11.64-second closing 200 meters. Tuchel, who stalked the pace from fourth, was a clear second over tepid favorite Packing Treadmill, who also raced close to the front. Winning time for the 1,600 meters was 1:34.58.

Ricky Yiu trains Voyage Bubble, an Australian-bred by Deep Field out of Raheights, by Rahy. Voyage Bubble, who will return for the 1,800-meter Hong Kong Classic Cup next month, was coming off a Class 3 handicap win in his first try at a distance as far as 1,600 meters. From two seasons of racing, the gelding’s record stands at 4-3-1 from nine starts.

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